New Beginnings
by LittleTera
Summary: Amy Collins gets sent to investigate a dangerous terrorist organisation in Australia. But when the mission goes wrong, can Amy rescue the other agents and save the mission? Can she keep the existence of CHERUB a secret? Also involves Dana's recruitment.
1. Mission Briefing

**OK, so this is my second story and my first CHERUB one, so if it's not very good, please tell me! This is for everyone who ever wondered how Dana Smith came to CHERUB.**

**By the way, I made almost all of the mission briefing up - there isn't actually a group called War for Peace who are going to come and bomb us all while we're sleeping..........  
I hope! :) **

**I don't own CHERUB or any of the characters apart from the ones you won't actually meet until I can be bothered to write more...........mwa ha ha XD**

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

Her name is Dana Lawson. She is seven years old. She lives in a children's home in Melbourne, Australia.

They tell her that her parents had died in a car crash. They say she has no relatives. That's why she is in the children's home. She doesn't know. She's been there since she was three, but she still doesn't know what happened. All she knows is that she is alone. No-one cares for her. No-one would worry if she comes back to the home with scraped knees or a ripped t-shirt. No-one wants anything to do with her.

Sometimes she looks at the picture of her parents - the only thing she has of them - and wonders. She wonders what her life would have been like if they were still alive. She wonders if they were nice, or strict. She wonders what they would have looked like. They look happy in the picture. Like they didn't know that in just a few hours, they would be dead. And their only daughter would be landed in a care home for the rest of her childhood. If they'd known about where she is now, what would they have thought? Would they have cared?

She doesn't know. She carries on. She lives her life from day to day, not knowing what might be coming next.

And nothing could have prepared her for what happens next.

* * *

CHERUB campus, England. November.

It was breakfast time. In the canteen it was noisy as everyone chatted to their neighbours and caught up on the latest gossip.

"Amy! You've got a mission briefing in Zara Asker's office, at six o' clock. Something big, down under," Meryl Spencer, Amy's handler, called to her.

11-year-old Amy Collins grinned at the prospect of a big mission. She had earned her grey shirt the year before, but since then she'd only done a security check on a house in Lancashire, and a recruitment mission in London. All her mates had been on big missions already, and Sophie, her best friend, had even got her navy shirt. Amy was the one who stayed on campus, watching her friends go off to America, China and even Zimbabwe. Finally, an important mission for her! Her big brother John would be pleased too. He was 17, nearly at the end of his CHERUB career, but he still had time for another mission or two.

"Wow, Amy. A mission in Australia. That's pretty big," said a red-headed girl named Jess.

"Yeah," Amy answered, but her mind was racing ahead. If she was away for say, three months, John would have left CHERUB to travel round the world. She wouldn't see him for another six months at least, until he came back to go to university next autumn. She desperately wanted to go on the mission, but at the same time she wanted to be with John.

The dilemma was solved for her. At six o' clock, she arrived on the eighth floor, at Zara Asker's office. Zara was 25 years old with long brown hair, and was known as one of the best and nicest mission controllers. She worked as senior mission controller alongside Dennis King, so Amy knew that this mission had to be particularly special.

"Come in," Zara called when Amy knocked.

She entered the office and was surprised to see John lounging on a sofa with a Diet Coke. "John!"

John smiled at her. "Uh-huh. You didn't manage to get rid of me."

Zara threw Amy her mission briefing. "Read it carefully," she said. "It's a really big mission. We're dealing with terrorism here."

************CLASSIFIED MISSION BRIEFING FOR AMY COLLINS (11), NATASHA PORTER (13), JOHN COLLINS (17), AND ELLA MCKINNON ****(17)**********  
**********DO NOT PHOTOCOPY, MAKE NOTES, OR REMOVE FROM THE MISSION PREPARATION OFFICES************

**The Start of War for Peace**

**In October 2004, Australian army troops were preparing to travel to Iraq to assist the American and British troops already there. It was a week until the departure date when the commander of the troops received an anonymous message. It warned him not to go ahead with the plan and to disband the troops immediately, 'otherwise your lives will be in danger'. ASIS (Australian Secret Services) decided the message was a prank and the army went ahead to Iraq. They never arrived there. Halfway across the Indian Ocean, the planes the troops were travelling in supposedly malfunctioned and crashed into the sea. Over 1000 men, including the commander, were killed. There were no survivors of the crash. **

**The incident was reported as a tragic accident in the papers, not as a terrorist attack (which was what ASIS now suspected it to be). Three weeks later, that suspicion was confirmed when a telephone message was sent to ASIS headquarters. It acclaimed responsibilty for the attacks and was supposedly from a group who called themselves War for Peace. **

**Thus War for Peace was formed.**

**About War for Peace**

**War for Peace is a terrorist group who aim for world peace. This in itself is not unusual, however War for Peace do not mind harming or killing innocent people in their drive to attain their goal. The name War for Peace highlights this. **

**Evidence would suggest that War for Peace is a predominantly female group. The message sent to ASIS was a female's voice, and close monitoring by ASIS would suggest that only females are allowed to join the closely-knit organisational group, but men are allowed to join the main group. **

**War for Peace is considered a dangerous group. They have killed many people before and they pose a serious threat to national security. A recent statement made by a spokeswoman for War for Peace was, "We are prepared to kill and maim in order to attain world peace. War threatens our society. It disrupts our precious world. War is almost always caused by men, and, as women, we are determined to stop war - whatever it takes."**

**The CHERUB mission**

**On the 15th May 2009, Richard Lennon, the Australian Minister of Defence, was killed by a car bomb in Brisbane while he was attending a conference on fighter planes.**

**On the 22nd May, exactly one week later, Jacob Edwards, the Head of the Munitions Department in Australia, was also killed. Six masked women burst into his bedroom and beat him to death with crowbars.**

**War for Peace claimed responsibility for these deaths. Their objective is obviously to wipe out the heads of the government departments concerning war and defence. Nobody will replace the two killed men, and all over the country, munitions experts, gun manufacturers, and soldiers in the Australian army are resigning. No other countries will assist Australia in fear of getting killed themselves.**

**ASIS has tried to infiltrate the organisation, but War for Peace obviously has inside knowledge of them. They knew the secret location of ASIS headquarters, and they have anticipated all ASIS's moves and attempts to find out the leaders of War for Peace. **

**This is where the CHERUB agents come in. **

**ASIS believe that War for Peace are based in Melbourne, Australia. They meet in an electrified compound posing as the company Victrix Artillery and Weapons, which does not actually exist.**

**A woman named Jenny Lambert is believed to be one of the main characters in War for Peace. She quit a successful ASIS career three years ago to 'pursue her interests in weapon design and manufacture'. However, she is currently unemployed. She has three daughters who attend Greendale Park School, a fee-paying school in the outskirts of Melbourne, where she lives in a large detached house. Her voice roughly matches the voice of the message sent to ASIS in late 2004.**

**The CHERUB agents will pose as the children of a rich widow (Zara Asker), who has recently moved to Melbourne. Assistant mission controller will be Chloe Blake. The family name will be Cooper. Everyone will use their normal first names. 'John Cooper' and 'Ella Cooper' will take the place of twins who have just left school. 'Amy Cooper' and 'Natasha Cooper' will attend Greendale Park School.**

**The aim of John Collins and Ella Mckinnon is to infiltrate War for Peace and hopefully find out their future plans and, if possible, the names of the leaders. **

**Amy Collins and Natasha Porter will try to befriend the children of Jenny Lambert as follows;**

**Amy Collins (11) - Emily Lambert (11)  
_if possible _Jess Lambert (12)**

**Natasha Porter (13) - Laura Lambert (14)  
_if possible _Jess Lambert (12)**

**Once they have made friends with their targets, they will attempt to place recording devices in the Lambert family home.**

**_WARNING;_**

**_THE CHERUB ETHICS COMMITTEE ACCEPTED THIS MISSION TWO TO ONE. _**

**_THIS MISSION IS CLASSIFIED AS HIGH RISK. AGENTS MAY BE AT RISK FROM BOMBING AND/OR VIOLENCE. CAUTION IS ESSENTIAL WHEN DEALING WITH WAR FOR PEACE. _**

**_THE EXPECTED LENGTH OF THE MISSION MAY MEAN THAT AGENTS WILL BE AWAY FROM SIBLINGS AND FRIENDS FOR A LONG TIME._**

**_**********************************************************************************************************************************_**

Amy didn't know what to say. The mission was especially close to her heart after her parents had died in a terrorist attack on a plane when she was just two, John just eight.

She looked over at John. He grimaced, then gave a tiny nod.

Amy looked down at her mission briefing. She felt resolved.

"Yes. I'll do the mission."

* * *

**Love it? Hate it? Review and tell me!**

**I know it isn't really much about Dana yet, but that will come! I have a plan.............**

**Review and I'll write more...........**


	2. Complications

Zara smiled. "Excellent," she said. "Now, John. Do you accept the mission?"

"Definately."

"Does anyone know where Natasha and Ella are?" Zara asked, her forehead creasing into a frown. "They're already half an hour late."

Amy and John shook their heads. Amy didn't know either of them very well. Ella was 17, a black-shirt with long black hair and freckles who seemed nice from the little Amy had heard about her. Natasha was 13, only two years older than Amy, but she had her own group of friends, and anyway, the 'cool kids' on CHERUB campus kept well away from the 'little ones'. She had short brown hair and a mouth permanently twisted into either a scowl or a smirk. Amy wasn't quite sure if the mean girl attitude she put on usually was just a front or the way she actually was.

Just then, Ella Mckinnon opened the door. She looked worried.

"Zara, I'm so sorry I'm late, but I've got some pretty bad news. Natasha was training on the obstacle course this afternoon, and, well, you know it was raining earlier? Well, she slipped on a rope and fell. She hit the safety net, but the doctors think she's got a broken ankle and a possible concussion." Ella was biting her lip. They all knew that being an agent down could be very serious for the mission.

Zara broke the silence. "Can I go and see her now?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"I think so. They said they would operate this evening. When I left the medical unit they were just giving her painkillers."

Zara nodded. "OK. I'll go now. Ella, you stay here with John and read your mission briefing. Amy, come with me. Natasha's accident means your role in the mission could be completely different. I need to talk to her about it."

* * *

When they got to the medical unit, Natasha was lying on a hospital bed, looking upset.

"Natasha, honey," Zara said gently. "Are you feeling alright? Do you mind if we talk about the mission?"

Natasha shook her head. "I won't be able to go on it, will I?" she asked, looking devastated. Amy knew that Natasha was still a grey-shirt, like herself, and was desperate for a big mission. She felt sorry for her, but at the same time slightly relieved that she wouldn't have to work with the usually bossy, petulant girl.

"No, sweetie, I don't think so. I'm sorry, but we need someone in peak fitness. With a broken ankle......." Zara trailed off.

Amy asked the question that had been nagging her all the way to the medical unit. "Is there anyone else who could take Natasha's place?"

Zara thought for a while. "Possibly. How about Nicola Danforth?"

"She's away on a mission in Hawaii."

"Caroline Pierce? She might work."

"Scotland, last I heard."

"Oh dear. That's even worse than I thought. There's no-one else here, though, is there, who could pass as Amy, John and Ella's brother?" Zara looked even more worried now. The mission could be ruined before it had even started.

"Wait, Zara. Why can't Amy do it on her own? The mission for us was to get inside Jenny Lambert's house, yeah? So maybe Amy might not be able to make friends with Laura Lambert, who was going to be my target, but she can easily buddy up with Emily and Jess. I'm sure she could manage that." Natasha suggested. Amy tried to look confident and capable.

"Hmm. Yes. Yes, that might work, actually. I'll have to think about it, maybe have a talk with Mac. Would you be okay with being the only young agent on the mission, Amy?" Zara asked her.

Amy nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Good." Zara made to go.

"I'm sorry about your leg, Natasha," Amy said tentatively. To her surprise, Natasha gave her a weak smile. "Not as sorry as I am."

* * *

Melbourne, Australia

"Dana Lawson!"

The shrill voice of Dana's carer echoed up the stairs. Dana sighed. What did the so-called 'carer' want now?

"Dana Lawson! Get down here now! I've got the Greendale Park headteacher here, and I want to know why!"

Dana slowly made her way down the stairs. Her parents had had a lot of money, and in their will they had specified that she go to Greendale Park School. However, she hated it. She hated the green blazers and itchy dresses that made up the uniform. She hated the teachers who looked down their noses at the 'poor little orphans from the children's home'. Most of all, she hated the headteacher, Mr Newman. On the very first day she had been at Greendale Park, he had summoned her to his office and told her, "You are very priveliged to be here. I don't want _any_ trouble from you, do you understand, Anna Dawson? I've had to deal with _your_ sort before." She had wanted to scream, "Do you think I want my parents to be dead? Do you think I chose this horrible, stuck-up school?"

"Ah! There you are! Now, why is Mr Newman here, Dana?" her carer, a thin-lipped woman named Marie Farlington, looked down at Dana sharply.

"I...." Dana was too tired to remember, too depressed to care.

"If you'll allow me to explain, Mrs Farlington..." Mr Newman was at his smarmiest, trying to impress the carers. "_This girl_ was found stealing books from the library to take home." He spoke like reading was a capital offence. "This is a very serious matter, I'm sure you understand. Stealing school property is a grave offence."

Marie looked puzzled. She knew there was something slightly odd about the Dana girl - those big brown eyes that looked much older than seven, the thin scrawny body, the voracious appetite for reading, reading, reading. But still, she had never marked her down as a thief.

"Mr Newman, are you sure she didn't mean to bring the books back?" she enquired politely. This was a bad move - the headteacher's red cheeks swelled visibly.

"Mrs Farlington, I _adore_ children. But every so often, a child comes along who is pure evil. This child is one of them. She has been caught several times sneaking out of class to visit the library. I am a patient, kind man, but still! Stealing and truancy! We do not accept stealing at Greendale Park. Why, the child was taking books far too advanced for a five-year-old! I ask you - 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Macbeth'? The very idea is completely absurd! Our school has a reputation to uphold! The child must be expelled at once."

Dana felt her heart lift. Being expelled would be the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her. She resisted the temptation to point out that not only was she seven, not five, she was perfectly capable of reading the books she had taken out of the library and she was not actually an evil child.

Marie looked at Mr Newman. "Well, I'm sure she can return the books straight away, and no harm will have been done. Wouldn't you think that would a far better idea than expelling her?"

"Well.........only if she promises never to commit any crimes again, or I'll be down on her like a ton of bricks!" He turned round and stormed out of the care home, adding as a parting shot, "I'll be watching you, Hannah Fawcett!"

Marie turned around to glare at Dana. "You naughty child! How many times do I have to tell you? You can go to bed for the rest of the day, and no puddings for a week."

Dana slowly trailed back upstairs. She couldn't stop herself reading. It was her only escape from her life. When she read, she travelled into whichever book she was reading. She climbed into her bed sadly and fished about under the pillow for her latest book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. When she had read the first page in the library, she had been intrigued by the story of a boy who was very much like herself. She opened the book and began to read........

_Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense......_

* * *

**Review and I'll write more........Please?**


	3. Settling in

**OK, so here it is. I'm not dead, after all! **

* * *

Greendale Park School, Melbourne. Two weeks later.

Not for the first time, Dana wondered why school assemblies were obligatory. Why did the pupils of Greendale Park have to attend assembly five times a week? All they did was sit in a cold, draughty hall, listening to Mr Newman rumbling on about how the sins of naughty children would be found out and they would be subjected to an eternity in hell.

Also not for the first time, she wondered why the headteacher had chosen a career path which specified in children. Maybe he thought he was auditioning for Hitler's replacement as head of the Nazis. She smiled to herself at the thought. However, this was a mistake.

"Unfortunately, some children are so steeped in evil that they cannot even listen to my attempts to save them from a fiery demise!" the head bellowed, showering the Year 2s with spit and staring pointedly at Dana. "Instead, they sit, _GRINNING_, while I and my colleagues try endlessly to save their souls......." He spoke as if smiling was a capital offence. Mr Newman ranted on in this less than absorbing manner for another minute, by which time Dana had completely switched off.

You pompous twit, Dana thought viciously, You evil, twisted fiend, you blithering idiot, you don't have any idea what you're talking about, do you?

Finally, the bell rang. The whole school seemed to mutter an inaudible sigh of relief. The headmaster was not exactly liked in the school.

The Head Boy stood up to read the notices. Something about a new drama club starting and a lacrosse match against another school.

"And, lastly, there is a new pupil arriving in Year 8 on Monday. Her name is Amy Cooper. I hope you'll all make her feel very welcome."

In any other school, the news that a new pupil was arriving would not be noteworthy. But Greendale Park was a very posh, very expensive, and very small school - there were only about 200 pupils - and any new pupil would be instantly sized up - as a possible friend by the snobs, or as a possible nerd who would have to be taught how to behave.

* * *

The Cooper family home, Melbourne.

"Amy!" Zara called. "I've just had a call from the headmaster. He says you can start at Greendale Park tomorrow."

Amy rushed down from her enormous bedroom on the second floor of the house that Ms Cooper (in other words, Zara) and her three children John, Amy, and Ella, were staying in. In actual fact, _mansion_ was probably a better word to describe the Cooper family's new home. It was absolutely huge. It boasted seven bedrooms; an indoor swimming pool, complete with jacuzzi; and several living rooms, including a kitchen with marble worktops and every labour-saving gadget ever invented, and a TV room with a gigantic flatscreen TV in one corner. Amy's bedroom had a king-size bed and wardrobes full of clothes. The whole room was decorated in various shades of pink. Amy Collins, who had never been a pink sort of girl, was beginning to be a bit fed up with trying to impersonate Amy Cooper.

"OK, Mum," she called back. "Do I have a uniform yet?"

"Yeeeees," Zara said cautiously, "But, don't be too annoyed, will you? It's not exactly lovely."

Amy ran into the lounge and saw her new uniform laid out on the carpet. Thick green woolly tights, a long (_ankle-length?)_ green pleated skirt, and a green blazer with shoulder pads and a ridiculously fancy crest on the pockets. Not to mention the high-collared white shirt (surely it wasn't......._silk_?), straw boater with green ribbon, and the black lace-up shoes, which looked as though they'd come from an old ladies' shoe shop.

"........Oh. Great," she said lamely.

John walked in, a smile on his face. "Love the new uniform, sis. I'm sure you'll look great in it." He turned to walk out the room, but didn't quite manage it before he burst in a fit of laughter. Amy grabbed the horrible clothes and ran upstairs to her bedroom to shriek in frustration into her pillow.

They had only been in Melbourne for a week, and she had to go to a posh, stuck-up school with a disgusting uniform while John and Ella got to mess around in their massive house. It was just not fair.

* * *

**That was a short chapter......... **

**Just a note, the uniform is based on the one I used to wear at my old school........happy days........**

**If I get 10 more reviews, I'll write another chapter before the New Year, OK? I know it's not saying much, but for me......who updates about three times a year........**

**Thanks for reading! **

**REVIEW!!**


	4. First day at school

**By the way, I'm English (as you probably realised by now), and I've never been to an Australian school, so sorry if it's not very accurate... For a start I'm pretty sure Australian schools don't have Year 8 and Reception.**

* * *

The next day, Amy got out of her warm cosy bed and struggled into the disgusting uniform. It was hard to be forced to go to school when John and Ella would be relaxing in the house all day. Especially a school with a headmaster like Mr Newman. She had only met him once, but that was an experience she would be willing to forget. She felt slightly scared of the spit-spraying, ugly headmaster, and to think that once at school she would be in his control five days a week...

Still, she knew that as the only agent at the school, she had the full responsibility of befriending the Lambert children. If she failed, the aim to get inside Jenny Lambert's house would be destroyed.

* * *

The school looked imposing as they drove up the drive in the Cooper family's brand new Mercedes, Zara in a smart suit and immaculate hair and makeup in her role as rich, posh widow Ms Zara Cooper. Amy tried to squash down the butterflies in her stomach. She always got nervous before a mission, but this was different. A whole part of the mission depended on her. If se failed, they would fail.

Inside, the school was grand, with ornately carved wooden staircases and carved cherubs on the ceiling. It looked more like a Victorian stately home than a school. It was also strangely quiet. Through the doors of the classrooms, they could see rows of quietly working children, all in the hideous green blazers. But there were no boys messing around at the back, or girls sitting in circles gossiping and fiddling with their hair. There were no feet on desks, or rubbish on the floor. Even the little ones were quietly and calmly playing in the sand tray or reading a book in the corner. Saying that though, this was a very expensive, elite school. There was no time for troublemakers or disruptive children.

They reached the Year 8 classroom. Mr Newman had shown Zara where it was the day before. Amy had had to memorise the names of her twenty or so classmates, all 12- and 13-year-olds. There was only one Year 8 class, taught by a Mrs Trask. She looked up as they came in, and smiled at Amy. She had shoulder-length blond hair, and looked about twenty-five or thirty.

"Amy Cooper?" Her voice sounded kind; nicer than the squawking tones of the receptionist or the harsh voice of Mr Newman. Maybe not all the staff here were horrible, after all.

"Yes," Zara smiled. "Goodbye, Amy. Have a nice day."

"OK, you can sit next to Emily here. We're just doing some maths, alright? Have you got a calculator, or shall I lend you one?" the teacher said.

The work was fairly easy compared to what they did at CHERUB, and Amy found the sums easy. She was pleased to be sitting next to her main target, but Emily seemed very quiet, unlike her older sister, Jess, who happened to be in the same class. Whereas Jess was reported to be noisy, sometimes boisterous, and the ringleader of her group of friends, Emily was shy, reserved, and didn't appear to have any close friends. Complete opposites, thought Amy wryly, as they began some geography questions, and after an hour Emily still hadn't said a word. In contrast, Jess was chatting loudly to her admiring friends, directing glances at the nearest boys, chewing gum, and not doing much work.

It was soon time for break, and then Amy found out a few more differences between the younger two Lambert sisters. The tall, brown-haired Jess came straight up to her and looked her in the eye.

"Alright, squirt?"

Her friends all laughed. Amy flushed.

"Um, hi, I'm Amy. What's your name?" She attempted to be friendly. But the girls only laughed more at her English accent and obvious discomfort.

"_What's your name?_" Jess Lambert mocked. "Well, my name's Jess, but you can call me...Your Highness." She grinned, obviously pleased at having a new face to bully. Her friends hung round Amy, laughing and taunting her.

"Bit small, isn't she?"

"Look at that skirt - it's enormous!"

"Hah. She's obviously a nerd."

They all sniggered. Jess grinned.

"So, squirt. what do you say about that then?"

Amy found her voice. "I won't call you Your Highness,' she said quietly.

"What?" Jess's eyes glowed dangerously, but she allowed Amy to walk past her. "Never mind. We'll teach you a lesson later."

Amy tried not to cry as she walked back to her desk. She felt like such a failure. It was only her first day and already she had managed to make an enemy of one of her targets. And the other one hadn't even spoken to her all morning. She resolved that she would try and talk to her in the next lesson.

The next lesson was something called Perspective. Mrs Trask explained it to Amy.

"Perspective is something which is, as far as I know, unique to this school. For the duration of the lesson, you get to go to the infant classes, to help with the four-, five-, six- and seven-year-olds. You might be helping with their reading, or playing with them. It's all about establishing links between older and younger members of the school. Most of the class enjoy it, some don't," here she directed a glance at Jess Lambert, "but the little ones find it fun."

Obviously Mr Newman hadn't set up Perspective, then. Amy couldn't imagine the headmaster doing anything for the benefit, wellbeing or happiness of his pupils.

When they entered the Year 2 class, the twenty or so children stood up, staring in admiration at the 'big ones'. The teacher, Miss Price, organised the Year 8s into groups.

"Jamie, Kayley, Zac, and Ellen, can you help with the sandpit. And you five, can you go and hang up some of their paintings to dry."

Amy watched as her classmates were put into groups and sent off, until only her and the Lambert sisters were left. She looked at them, dismayed. One partner who didn't appear to be able to speak, and one who was the school bully.

"Jess and Emily, and... Amy, is it? You can help them with their reading."

Jess groaned loudly and scowled at Miss Price, who looked defiantly back. Emily stared at the floor.

Amy looked at the group of wide-eyed youngsters, all staring silently at them, and cleared her throat.

"Uhm, so... who wants to start?"

No response.

"Uh... anyone? Come on, someone must want to... No? OK, I'll have to pick someone then."

Amy scanned the faces of the children in front of her. Who was that one standing at the back, looking shyly up at her? She was thin and pale, but her eyes looked too old for seven.

"Come on, you can read with me. What's your name?" she asked as the little girl walked over to some cushions with her.

"Dana," the girl said quietly, "Dana Lawson."

* * *

**Well, that seems like a good place to stop.**

**I'm thinking of changing my pen name...any ideas anyone?**

**REVIEW!!! (and I might update before Christmas!)**

**See you next time! :)**


	5. Dana

**Three reviews? Really? Is that it? ;)**

**Well, I suppose that's my punishment for being a late updater...**

* * *

"That's a nice name," Amy said. "What book are you reading?"

Dana showed her. It was a brightly coloured book with the words _Twinkletoes Goes To The Fair_ written in pink curly writing across the top.

"Um...that looks..._interesting..._"

Amy tried to be enthusiastic, but soon she was grimacing along with Dana as Twinkletoes the beribboned pink unicorn tossed her pink mane and happily pranced along the road to the fair, carrying some pink flowers in her mouth and singing a little song, which went something along the lines of _'I'm a pink unicorn called Twinkletoes, I look like a beautiful pink rose, won't you come and play with me, it's wonderfully fun as you'll see'_, whilst little pink-wearing fairies and pixies danced around her, laughing and saying how beautiful she was. Finally she got to the fair with her entourage and was promptly awarded the (pink) rosette for 'Most Beautiful Animal'. Everyone cheered for Twinkletoes and she ended up by going home to her beautiful pink bedroom in her beautiful pink castle, which was beside a lovely forest with friendly animals.

Despite the awfulness of the book, Dana read well. She finished quite quickly, luckily for both of them, and Amy asked her why she had chosen _Twinkletoes Goes To The Fair_.

"Because it was the only one in the infants' library which I hadn't read..." Dana admitted shyly. "And we're not supposed to go in the big library."

Amy was quite impressed by this shy, reserved girl with a huge passion for reading. Back at campus, there were lots of bright children, but they were not as common outside of campus.

She read with another girl, then it was time for them to go back to their own classroom. Amy tried to start a conversation with Emily Lambert on the way back, but she was unresponsive. Amy thought she was beginning to see a pattern in the way that Emily never spoke much when Jess was around, and Jess seemed to treat her younger sister with nothing but scorn and sarcasm.

* * *

Back at the Cooper house, John and Ella were discussing plans with Zara over a huge map of the War for Peace headquarters, a large warehouse-and-offices complex under the name of Victrix Artillery and Weapons. The two 17-year-olds were supposed to be going to a youth club that night, where a few young members of War for Peace were known to go sometimes. The aim was to gradually befriend them and find out about the compound, hopefully meeting some of the main members. As a female, Ella was the more likely to be accepted, but her slight figure and unimposing look wouldn't do much against the local yobs (even though Ella was of course a martial arts expert, Zara didn't want them to give off any impression that they were anything but normal kids).

"We'll go to the club tonight, Mum," John said, "and check out the War for Peace people, see if they're strict about becoming members or whatever."

"OK, but you must be careful," Zara warned. "These people are dangerous. They've killed many times, even if there haven't been any killings recently. Don't try anything stupid or dangerous, okay?"

* * *

When Amy got home from Greendale Park, she found the rest of the 'family' sitting on the huge sofa in the lounge, watching TV. She had quite a lot of homework - one of the annoying things about the school was that they gave out ridiculously large amounts of homework - but she figured she deserved a bit of a break after the hard day, so she sat down for a while with the others.

The news came on as she dumped her school bag on the floor. A serious-looking newsreader began to report the day's headlines.

"And there has been another killing in Brisbane. Rob Freowin, the head of an organisation supplying weaponry to the government, was murdered earlier today. He was shot down by a masked assassin, believed to be a woman, as he got into his car after a meeting with the government. The killer escaped."

* * *

**I know it's a short one, but please...REVIEW!!!!**

**(and I might update before February 2015!)**


	6. Overheard

Shocked silence greeted this announcement, and lasted while the newsreader went through the more mundane pieces of the day's news.

War for Peace had killed yet again, and they were still no closer to infiltrating it.

* * *

Dana lay in her bed, thinking about the day's events. She liked that girl, Amy, that she had met while the Year 8s were doing Perspective. She was understanding and kind, nicer than the silent girl or the bossy bully who she usually read to. Amy seemed cleverer than the other children as well. Dana wasn't quite sure, but she felt like Amy understood how she felt. Almost like she herself had once in that position. Of course, Amy had a mother and father, and had probably never entered a care home in her life, let alone lived in one, but she seemed to sympathise with Dana.

Dana fell asleep, feeling more positive than she had felt in months.

* * *

The next morning, Zara handed out what appeared to look like plasters to each of them. Amy was confused.

"Um...am I planning to wound myself any time soon?" she asked.

John grinned. "No, they're like mini radios. You just stick them somewhere, then to contact Zara back here, you just press down on the top and speak into it. Zara will be listening."

Amy stuck the plaster on her arm. It looked horribly conspicuous but she supposed it would have to do.

Once at school, she resolved that she would try to make friends with Emily and Jess Lambert. Even if they were unwilling, she would strike up a conversation with both of them before the first break time.

However, her ideals did not come into being. As the bell for first break rang, it suddenly struck her that Natasha would have made friends with Jess and her 'cool' gang, a lot more easily than Amy was finding it. As soon as the teacher had walked out, Jess slid off her desk and sauntered over to Amy.

"Alright, squirt?"

Amy ignored her. Jess grinned wickedly. Reaching out, she tipped Amy's bag on to the floor. All her things spilt out. Then Jess upended Amy's water bottle all over her stuff.

"Oh dear. Accidents will happen," she smirked as she left the room with her mates following, laughing.

Emily walked past her quickly, head down and staring at the floor. Amy gathered up her soaking books and pencilcase and hurried after her.

"Excuse me, Emily," she called.

Emily whipped round, then, seeing it wasn't her sister, relaxed. "Yes?"

"Well, we have a History lesson next, don't we? And it says Room 16, but I don't know where that is."

Emily smiled. "It's just up these stairs here, then along the corridor until you get to the last classroom but one. If you stay with me during break, I'll show you."

Amy smiled back tentatively. The clam had opened up and was speaking!!

"OK," she replied. "Where do you want to go?"

Emily looked around quickly, before leaning closer. "Well, I usually go to the library. But, you won't tell Jess, will you? It's the only place I can hide from her and her gang, cause she'd never set foot in such a geeky place as a school library."

Amy grinned. "I won't tell. No offence, but your sister scares me."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it!"

* * *

Amy was not surprised when they walked into the library and saw Dana sitting on a bean bag in a corner, reading with her nose almost touching the page. However, she followed Emily to one of the small tables near the middle. As she watched, Dana finished the page, got up and walked out of the library.

"What happened there?" Emily asked in an undertone, pointing to the somewhat obvious plaster on Amy's arm.

Amy flushed and turned back to Emily. "Uh...well, I...um...I sort of tripped and scratched myself on a bramble in the garden..." She tailed off, realising that brambles and such other garden horrors were not exactly likely in a place as well kept as the Coopers' mansion.

Emily seemed to accept this explanation without further comment, but still looked a little bemused.

Amy stood up. "I need the loo," she muttered, and went out of the library quickly. Keeping a look out for Jess and her crowd of friends, she went into the nearest girls' toilets. It was empty. All the doors were open apart from one at the end, with a sign saying 'Out Of Order' sellotaped to the door.

She quickly went into a cubicle and sat down on the toilet lid, checking under the cubicle walls for feet. Pressing down on the plaster, she said quietly, "Zara? Do you hear me?"

Zara's voice came back out of the tiny speaker. "Yes, Amy. What is it?"

Amy frowned. "Well, I just called for a progress report about the mission. I've made friends with Emily and she's asked me to sit with her at lunch."

"OK...well done..." Zara sounded a little confused that Amy had radioed just to tell her this.

"But, there's sort of a problem."

"Yes?" Zara sounded apprehensive.

"Jess Lambert hates me. And Emily's scared of her sister, so she won't be any help. Even if Emily invited me round to her house, Jess would kick up such a fuss that she'd have to uninvite me."

Zara's voice was worried. "OK, we'll talk about it at home. Don't worry about the mission, though. John and Ella are getting progress."

Amy took her finger off the plaster and unlocked the door. As she stepped out a noise came from behind the out of order toilet. She stopped, then stared as the small head of Dana emerged from under the door.

Dana stood up and brushed herself off. "Hello, Amy," she said shyly.

Amy was speechless. "Wh-what are you doing here, Dana?" she said in horror. What if she had overheard the conversation?

Dana shuffled her feet and looked at the floor. "Reading," she said in a small voice. "I put the sign on the door, and then wriggle underneath. There's a gap between the toilet and the wall, where I can keep a book or two. I lift up my feet so no-one knows I'm there... But who were you talking to? And what's the mission? And why do you need to go to Emily's house?"

* * *

**Review! You know you want to ...**


	7. Problems and good news

Amy panicked. Dana had heard some important details of the mission, and she was only seven - too young to be made to sign anything that said that she wouldn't talk.

"Uh...er...well, me and my friends sort of have this secret club..." Amy blurted, convinced that she was giving the worst excuse in history. "It's sort of like a secret spy club... and we have walkie-talkies..." She swallowed, hoping Dana would believe her. "Um... I was just talking to my friend Zara... the, um, secret spy mission at the moment is to make friends with someone who doesn't have any friends... you know... being kind to people and all that..." She tailed off as she realised that Dana was gazing at her sceptically.

Amy grinned weakly, then glanced at her watch, muttered some excuse about 'going to be late for class' and dashed out of the bathroom, leaving Dana puzzled and wondering why on earth the new girl wanted to go to Emily Lambert's house.

Once she was back in the library, Amy managed to relax a little. Dana wouldn't possibly be able to guess about CHERUB or the mission... would she? In any case, she had to act normal for Emily's sake.

She would have to talk to Zara, Ella, and John once they were all back at the house, though.

* * *

John smiled at the dark-haired, pretty girl in front of him. Him and Ella had met her at the youth club the night before - instantly recognising her as being one of the War for Peace women - not a leader, nor a particularly important person for that matter, but eager to prove herself and help 'the cause', as some of the other women put it. Her name was Helena Williams. She was 18, out of school, and unemployed. They had struck up an acquaintance when John tried to enter one of the club's rooms which unfortunately turned out to be the ladies' toilets, which was not very well labelled. Helena had pointed him in the right direction, laughing, then offered to hang around with him and Ella. John sensed that she didn't have many close friends, and was not close enough inside the tightly-knit War for Peace circle to be of much use to them. But still, it was a start, and with another killing the night before, they had to work quickly to prevent more deaths.

At the moment, they were all sitting in one of the city parks near to Greendale Park School. Helena had told John and Ella the night before that she would be there with a group of friends, and as they had nothing else to do, they'd decided to go along. As well as Helena, there was a 17-year-old girl who had been introduced as Daisy, her 20-year-old boyfriend, a tough-looking tattoed guy called Sam, another girl called Grace (about 18), and a pair of identical twins who were called Vicky and Tara. Daisy was suspected to be part of War for Peace, Sam was part of the outer circle, Grace was nothing to do with it, but the twins were thought to be two of the main members.

Helena laughed. "I must say, John, when i saw you trying to get into the ladies' last night, I thought you were some kind of paedophile."

Ella joined in laughing. "Only you could manage that, John."

All the girls exchanged glances and grinned at each other. They seemed to be getting on pretty well, and, although John felt a little annoyed by this, he knew that Ella as a female had much more chance of getting inside War for Peace than he did. He decided to strike up a conversation with Sam.

"So, Sam, what do you guys generally do on a Saturday night? Cause me and Ella just moved here and we don't know any good places to hang out."

Sam laughed, a deep booming sound. "Aside from the youth club, you mean?"

John smirked. "No offence, but that was a waste of time. It must have been designed for 11-year-olds, like, thirty years ago?" Everyone laughed. "And it's so worn out now that even the little kids avoid it."

"Yeah, well. There's a night club down the road from here, but we look too young for them to serve us. But the leisure centre's quite good, they have a lounge where you can just go and hang out if you want. Actually, I think we're meeting up there tonight. If you want to come along, you can."

John was pleased at this. "Thanks. We'll be there."

* * *

**OK... TWO reviews for Chapter 6? Was that IT? (Was it really that bad?) With Dana overhearing, I thought (hoped) I'd get a little more...**

**Basically, the more reviews, the quicker I write. Even if it's a 'please update quick' or an 'i like this chapter'. I'm not asking for a novel.**

**Just, please, REVIEW.**


	8. Discovered

**So, yeah. I'm still not dead. I think ****I need to update more!!**

**Thanks for all the reviews; I really appreciate it!**

* * *

When John and Ella got back to the mansion, they found Amy in a state. She had worked herself up about being overheard by Dana, and seemed to be convinced that the mission was over already. Zara was already there, trying to calm her down.

"But it's all my FAULT, and the mission's RUINED, and we're gonna have to go back to ENGLAND and War for Peace are gonna kill the whole of Australia, and I messed it ALL up, and it's ALL MY FAULT..." she was moaning into her pillow.

John patted her on the back. "Look, Amy, I'm sure it will be fine."

This resulted in another moan.

"Come on, Amy, pull yourself together. How were you supposed to know that the little kid had hidden in the cubicle? She's only seven, she won't tell anyone, and even if she does they'll just assume she's made it up. So it can't be that bad. Come _on_." John tried to use a no-nonsense, motherly tone, but Amy just growled.

"Look, you said you've made progress already - Emily said she'd talk to her mum about inviting you round, right? So that's excellent. As John said, don't worry about Dana. You just go back to school tomorrow and talk to Dana. Try and act like everything's fine," Zara told Amy.

Amy lifted her head and was about to reply when the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that is?" Zara groaned. "Ella, would you? Tell them we've already got double glazing and we don't need any more leaflets for the takeaway down the road. And we're not interested in donating money to charity. Stupid people, they've been coming round all week."

Ella went downstairs to open the door. She couldn't see anyone through the frosted glass panel in the front door, which was odd. Probably some idiot kid, ringing the bell then running away. She unlocked the (complicated) catch and pulled open the door.

"Hello," Dana said shyly. "I came to see Amy, if that's okay."

Ella was surprised to see the skinny, small girl standing there in a too-big school uniform. She hadn't seen Dana before, but realised who she was from Amy's descriptions.

"Um, yeah. Come in. You're Dana, right? Did you walk here all by yourself?"

Dana shook her head and pointed to a scruffy car at the end of the drive. "One of the care workers brought me."

Zara appeared at the top of the stairs. "Who is it, Ella?"

Ella stepped aside to show Zara the small girl standing in the doorway. Zara smiled at Dana.

"Hello, sweetheart. Have you come to see Amy?"

Dana nodded shyly, looking around in amazement at the enormous hall with the chandelier and the sofas dotted around.

"OK, do you want to come up? She's in her room."

Dana climbed the stairs carefully, looking at her feet in awe as they sank into the deep carpet. Zara dashed into Amy's room and hissed, "It's Dana, come to see you. Behave _normally_."

Amy smiled at Dana as she entered the threshold of her huge bedroom. "Hi, Dana. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thankyou." Dana looked down at her feet and fidgeted. "I, I'm sorry I didn't ask to come round, but I just wanted to talk to you." She looked round the room in wonder. Her eyes stopped on the king-size bed in the corner. Amy followed her gaze.

"Yeah, I know. Huge, isn't it?"

Dana nodded, dumbstruck. "And is that...a swimming pool?" She pointed out of the window to the glass-roofed pool room.

"Yeah. Do you have a swimming costume? You could come and have a swim some time if you wanted."

Dana flushed. "I can't swim."

"That's okay," Amy said. "Mum will teach you if you want. She used to work as a swimming instructor when she was younger."

Dana's eyes lit up at this kindness.

"Shall we go downstairs into the lounge?" Amy asked, holding open the door for Dana. "And Mum will get you a drink if you'd like."

Amy and Dana went downstairs. As Zara came out of the kitchen, she asked Dana what sort of drink she'd like. "We have Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, fizzy water, orange or apple juice, squash, milk or just plain water."

Dana's eyes glazed over at the thought of having anything other than water to drink. "Uh... orange juice, please."

Zara smiled and disappeared into the kitchen again.

Amy followed Dana into the lounge, then gasped in horror. She had completely forgotten that they were using the lounge as a technical centre. All the CHERUB recording equipment and listening devices they had brought from England were spread out around the walls for the whole world to see. All the spyware, all the gadgets, and there in the middle of it all was John, lying on the floor and adjusting the speaker of an obscure device.

And she and Dana had just walked into the middle of it all.

* * *

**Ooh...I am a mean person, aren't I? I don't update for about a month and then leave you with a cliffhanger... (cue the sound effects - da da DAAAAAHHH...)**

**I'll try not to keep the suspense going for too long... ;D**

**See you next time... XD**


	9. Revelations

Amy gulped. She really had done it this time. Dana was staring in amazement at the technology laid out on the floor, while Amy tried desperately to think if an excuse.

"Um... I... Dana, why don't you come into the kitchen and get your drink?" she blurted, steering Dana out of the room. With a bewildered expression on her face, Dana accepted her drink and sat down in one of the huge armchairs in the dining room.

"Amy?" she asked tentatively.

Amy swallowed nervously, expecting the worst. "Yes?"

"What's going on?"

Amy fidgeted, not knowing what to say. "I... well, we sort of... John, that's my brother, is a kind of um, technician person I suppose, for a big company, and he sort of brought some stuff home, well, to do some work on..." She trailed off, acutely aware of Dana's smile.

"That's not true, is it Amy?" Dana smiled.

Amy slumped. "No. I lied."

"I know," Dana replied. "It was kind of obvious. And, that thing about the spy club with your friends? It doesn't exist, does it?"

"No." Amy answered, heaving a sigh. This was a huge mess; at this rate she'd never get her navy shirt.

"In fact, I don't think that your mum is your real mum, is she?" Dana probed further.

"She- How did you know that?" Amy asked, astounded.

Dana shuffled her feet and grinned nervously. "I sort of did some research at the local library. I found out that she used to work for MI5. Her name then was Zara Hughes. I had to bypass an awful lot of security to get the information."

"How did you know how to hack?" Amy asked in amazement. "No wait, don't tell me. You-"

"Read about it in a book." Dana finished shyly. "But you can probably do it way better than me, can't you?"

"Do what?"

"Hacking, espionage, weapons training, martial arts, navigation, language skills... everything really."

Amy gaped at the little girl who they had all underestimated so much. "How did you know about that?"

"When I heard you talking to 'Zara' in the toilets, I knew you hadn't told me the truth. So I did some digging. After I found out about Zara, I realised she'd just disappeared a couple of years ago. There weren't any records of her, at all. Then I tried to search for records about you. When I tried to hack into a database, it shut itself down and wouldn't give me access. I knew your details had to be pretty special, to be protected like that. So I guessed that you were being used as a spy for the government. It's a good idea. Nobody would suspect a kid. For what, I couldn't work out. Then last night I heard about the murder in Brisbane. They said that the killer was suspected to be a member of an elite terrorist organisation, who were trying to stop war happening. I found out some more, and realised that was what you were investigating, and then I found out something else that I knew I had to tell you."

Amy was stunned at the ingenuity of this seven-year-old. She had calmly and collectedly undertaken research that most adults wouldn't think about doing, and in doing so she had hacked into government databases and revealed top-secret information. In underestimating this seven-year-old, she had demonstrated exactly why CHERUB was so useful to the government.

"What do you need to tell me? Actually, wait. Should Zara hear this?"

Dana considered, then nodded. "I think that would be a good idea. And your brother needs to hear, as well."

Amy called John, Ella and Zara into the dining room. As Dana revealed the findings of her research to them, their faces became more and more amazed. Like Amy, they had completely underestimated the skinny seven-year-old.

Finally, Dana got to her mystery bit of information. "Amy and John, I found out something about your parents. It might be a bit of a shock."

Amy looked at John. "We're ready."

"Your parents were Elizabeth and Mark Wilkins, weren't they?"

Amy and John nodded.

"And they died in a plane crash when you were eight and two? A terrorist attack?"

Again, Amy and John nodded.

"It wasn't an accident that they were on that plane."

Amy gasped. How could she know that?

"The reports of the time say that it was a random terrorist attack. But I did some more research, and I found out that it was planned, that your parents were on that plane. Has anyone ever told you what your parents did?"

Zara was ashen-faced. "Let me tell them," she cried.

Amy and John turned to Zara. "You knew about this? You knew, and you never told us?"

Zara hung her head. "I'm so sorry. Let me explain."

John looked furious. "Explain, now."

"Your parents worked with me at MI5. We were good friends. They were doing some research for the government, and they stumbled on something they shouldn't have. There was a woman who worked for ASIS, who sometimes worked with your parents. She had a... shady past. And your parents found out that she was doing deals with weapons organisations, unknown to ASIS. Now, this woman found out that they knew. She had three young daughters, but she was a dangerous woman – she'd killed before. She decided to get rid of them."

Dana took over the story. "So she arranged for them to be on an aeroplane which was crashed as part of a terrorist plot. They died, and not many people knew the truth – that Elizabeth and Mark Wilkins were murdered by one of their own colleagues."

John and Amy couldn't believe what they were hearing. All their lives, they had been told their parents had died in a random terrorist attack, and now it had been revealed that they had been murdered. They felt betrayed and upset. Amy choked, distraught, "Who- who was she? The woman?"

Dana frowned, looking upset herself.

"The terrorist group was... what is now known as War for Peace. The woman – your parents' murderer – was, and is, Jenny Lambert."


	10. Progress

Amy lay on her bed with her head buried in her arms. Dana had left half an hour ago, but her head was still reeling from what she had revealed.

She didn't know what to think. One moment she wanted to storm out of the house and kill Jenny Lambert, the next she just wanted to go back to England and forget all about it. One thing was for sure. With a too-curious mind and some decidedly non-legal skills, one seven-year-old had managed to throw her world into turmoil.

Earlier, Zara had apologised again and again as Amy walked up the stairs in a daze. It didn't make any difference though. Her parents had been killed, murdered, by the woman who she was now trying to investigate. She didn't know what to think.

Did she even want to carry on with the mission...?

* * *

As soon as they got to the leisure centre, Ella spotted Helena, sitting with Daisy, Vicky and Tara. They went over and said hello. Ella sat straight down and was immediately included in the conversation, but John, as the only male there, had a harder time.

"Sam not here then, Vicky?" he asked the girl next to him. Her identical twin Tara sat across the coffee table. They both had shoulder-length, mousy hair, and were suspected to be two of the main members of War for Peace. Their status as identical twins meant that they were extremely useful to a terrorist group, as any DNA or CCTV footage of criminal activities could be passed off as being the other twin's, muddying the evidence and making convictions impossible. It also made it impossible to tell the difference between them.

'Vicky' glared at him.

"I'm not Vicky, I'm Tara. And no, Sam's not here, Sherlock."

John was a little taken aback by her abrupt attitude. She clearly resented his presence there. Helena, however, was a little gentler.

"He has a meeting at the comp-"

Daisy kicked her shin and Helena shut up abruptly. However, John was sure she had been about to say 'compound', meaning that there was a meeting at the War for Peace base tonight. Knowing this was good; but on the other hand Daisy had stopped Helena telling them, so they were still being treated as outsiders.

Loud giggles erupted from all the girls as Ella recounted a _hilarious_ anecdote about the time when John was eight and forgot to go to the toilet before bed one night, resulting in an accident.

John sighed. It was going to be a long evening.

* * *

Despite the late hour Zara still insisted on a progress report when they got back. Together they drew up a list of all the information they knew.

**Helena Williams: Dark hair, 18 years old. Known member of War for Peace, but not a main member. Bubbly, intelligent but slightly lazy, unemployed.**

**Daisy Buchanan: Sam's girlfriend. Blonde hair, 17 years old. Suspected member of War for Peace. **

**Sam Reynolds: Daisy's boyfriend. Tattooed, black hair, 20 years old. Member of the outer circle. **

**Grace (surname unknown): 18 years old. No connection with War for Peace. **

**Vicky and Tara Tomlinson: Mousy brown hair, 19 years old. Suspected to be two of the main members. Feminists. Secretive, hostile to most men.**

It didn't seem to be a very comprehensive list, but at least they'd made a start.

* * *

In the morning Amy got dropped off at Greendale Park by Zara in their car. When she got inside the doors, Jess Lambert was waiting for her.

"Hey there!" she smiled, in a suspiciously friendly way. Amy was instantly on her guard.

"Um... hi," she muttered.

"I know we didn't really get off to a good start, but I'd like to start again. Hi. I'm Jess Lambert," the older girl smiled, offering her hand.

Amy regarded her, puzzled. Why would she suddenly be acting nice? What was she trying to do? She decided that the best thing was just to play along and see where this was going. She took Jess' hand.

"Hi..."

"Welcome to Greendale Park. Oops, gotta go, or I might be late for my next lesson!"

Jess smiled widely, dashing off. Amy looked after her, now more puzzled than ever. Jess positively delighted in being late to class.

* * *

At lunchtime, Jess came over to where Amy and Emily were sitting, just as Emily said that she had something to ask Amy.

"Hey guys!" Jess smiled just a little too widely. "Yeah, what were you going to ask, Emily?"

Emily stuttered. "Um... just if Amy wanted to come round our house some time...?"

Amy thought Jess was going to argue, but instead she grinned and practically squealed, "That's a _great_ idea, Emily! I was just going to ask Amy the same thing!"

Amy smiled nervously, but inside she was delighted. She'd been invited to the house that they were supposed to be infiltrating, as easily as that.

"I'd love to come round," she said. "When were you thinking?"

Emily tried to say something but Jess jumped in first.

"Tonight?"

"Um, OK... I'll just phone my mum to check that's all right, but that should be OK."

Jess grinned. "Great! Our mum will be fine with that!"

And off she went, practically bouncing. Her behaviour was getting stranger and stranger.

Still, the first task had been accomplished. Make contact, and get invited to the Lambert house. Tick, tick. Amy could almost see herself in her navy shirt already.

* * *

**If I get to 60 reviews then I'll update... is that fair?**


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